Series guide
- Drama
- Superhero
- Alternate history
- Fantasy
- Dystopian
- Creators
- Damon Lindelof
- Stars
- Regina King · Don Johnson · Tim Blake Nelson
Images: HBO
Where to watch Watchmen
All nine episodes are on HBO Max in the US, included with any subscription.
Streaming options in the United States, updated Oct 5, 2026. More from hbomax.com. Service logos are trademarks of their owners.
- Episodes aired
- 9 of 9
Watchmen episodes 9
Season 1 · 9 episodes · 9 aired · Oct 20, 2019 to Dec 15, 2019
S1.E1 ·
It's Summer and We're Running Out of Ice
In Tulsa, masked police detective Angela Abar investigates the murder of her chief after a wave of attacks on officers, while a badly injured elderly stranger turns up at the edge of town.
Directed by Nicole Kassell · Written by Damon Lindelof
S1.E2 ·
Martial Feats of Comanche Horsemanship
Angela takes the injured stranger in as Tulsa's police, who've worn masks since a violent uprising years earlier, dig deeper into their chief's murder and the conspiracy behind it.
Directed by Nicole Kassell · Written by Damon Lindelof & Nick Cuse
S1.E3 ·
She Was Killed by Space Junk
FBI agent Laurie Blake arrives to investigate the chief's death, clashing with Angela and the local force as the case points toward something bigger than a single killing.
Directed by Stephen Williams · Written by Damon Lindelof & Lila Byock
S1.E4 ·
If You Don't Like My Story, Write Your Own
Tech mogul Lady Trieu moves to claim a mysterious object that falls from the sky, while Angela learns more about her family's past and the shape of the conspiracy comes into focus.
Directed by Andrij Parekh · Written by Damon Lindelof & Christal Henry
S1.E5 ·
Little Fear of Lightning
A traumatized colleague of Angela's is placed under surveillance as Laurie's investigation turns up a secretive pill tied to inherited memories, pulling the case somewhere much stranger.
Directed by Steph Green · Written by Damon Lindelof & Carly Wray
S1.E6 ·
This Extraordinary Being
An experimental treatment immerses Angela in a relative's memories, sending the story back decades to a hidden chapter of American history that explains the present-day mystery.
Directed by Stephen Williams · Written by Damon Lindelof & Cord Jefferson
S1.E7 ·
An Almost Religious Awe
Still reeling from those memories, Angela pieces together a family history that reframes everything she thought she knew about the person she's hunting.
Directed by David Semel · Written by Stacy Osei-Kuffour & Claire Kiechel
S1.E8 ·
A God Walks into Abar
A 2009-set flashback finally tells the story Angela has never shared with anyone: how she really met her husband, Cal, and why it began nothing like it seemed.
Directed by Nicole Kassell · Written by Jeff Jensen & Damon Lindelof
S1.E9 ·
See How They Fly
Long-building plans converge on Lady Trieu's compound as Angela, Laurie and the rest of the cast race to stop an operation that could remake the world, or end it.
Directed by Frederick E.O. Toye · Written by Nick Cuse & Damon Lindelof
Videos 1
Watchmen | Official Tease | HBOHBO · YouTube
A sequel to the comic, not an adaptation of it
The single most important thing to know before pressing play: this is not a retelling of Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons’ 1986 graphic novel. HBO’s Watchmen is set in Tulsa, Oklahoma in 2019, thirty-four years after the events of the comic, with an almost entirely new cast of characters. It assumes you already know how the book ended and builds forward from there rather than re-staging it.
That makes the show a harder sell to newcomers than most comic adaptations, but showrunner Damon Lindelof built in enough connective tissue that the plot is followable without the book: a 1921 prologue dramatizes the real Tulsa Race Massacre, and the present-day story opens on masked police detective Angela Abar investigating her chief’s murder after a wave of attacks on officers. Readers of the comic will recognize more names and catch more of what the season is actually arguing about, particularly once the story folds in Doctor Manhattan, Ozymandias and the legacy of 1985’s squid attack, but the mystery itself plays fair for anyone coming in cold.
One more thing worth knowing going in: this series has nothing to do with Zack Snyder’s 2009 Watchmen film, which is a direct adaptation of the same comic with an almost entirely different cast. Watching one is not a prerequisite for the other. HBO has described this as a complete, one-season story with no plans for a second, so there is no cliffhanger to wait out — the production record has the full episode and cast breakdown. Our watch guides track everything else we cover by release date.
Watchmen cast 11
Regina KingAngela Abar / Sister Night
Don JohnsonJudd Crawford
Tim Blake NelsonWade Tillman / Looking Glass
Andrew HowardRed Scare
Tom MisonMr. Phillips- Sara VickersMs. Crookshanks
Louis Gossett Jr.Will Reeves, Angela's grandfather
Jeremy IronsAdrian Veidt
Jean SmartLaurie Blake
Hong ChauLady Trieu
Yahya Abdul-Mateen IICal Abar
- Creator
- Damon Lindelof
- Directors
- Nicole Kassell, Stephen Williams, Andrij Parekh, Steph Green, David Semel, Frederick E.O. Toye
- Studios
- White Rabbit, Paramount Television, DC Entertainment, Warner Bros. Television
Photos via Wikimedia Commons. Regina King: Gage Skidmore, CC BY-SA 3.0; Don Johnson: Peter Kudlacz, CC BY 2.0; Tim Blake Nelson: GabboT, CC BY-SA 2.0; Andrew Howard: thepaparazzigamer, CC BY 3.0; Tom Mison: Floatjon, CC BY-SA 3.0; Louis Gossett Jr.: Canadian Film Centre from Toronto, Canada, CC BY 2.0; Jeremy Irons: Copyright owned by Jeremy Irons [Jonathan Hession/Showtime], CC BY-SA 3.0; Jean Smart: [2], CC BY-SA 2.0; Hong Chau: MTV UK, CC BY 3.0; Yahya Abdul-Mateen II: Eva Rinaldi, CC BY-SA 2.0.
Watchmen trivia 4
- Production
Damon Lindelof reached out to Watchmen creator Alan Moore to seek his blessing for the series, but Moore declined and asked not to be contacted again, saying he did not wish to be associated with the adaptation. Source
- Production
A show-within-the-show called American Hero Story was used to tell the purported backstory of Hooded Justice. Writer Cord Jefferson said American Hero Story was meant to be the opposite of the real show: a cheesy production that perpetuated the in-universe myth that Hooded Justice was a white man. Source
- Production
In October 2018, filming for the remainder of the first season began in Georgia. Filming locations that month included Palmetto, Brookhaven, Peachtree City, Decatur, and the MARTA station in Chamblee. Source
- Production
Damon Lindelof described the idea behind Adrian Veidt's escape scenes as doing an escape story that is more like Wile E. Coyote and the Road Runner than Escape from Alcatraz, calling the idea too delicious not to do. HBO did not identify Jeremy Irons' character as Veidt until the third episode, billing him only as "Lord of a Country Manor" until then. Source
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Frequently Asked Questions
Where can I watch Watchmen?
On HBO Max in the US with any subscription, checked October 5, 2026.
Do I need to have read the Watchmen comic first?
No, but it changes what you’re watching. This is a sequel, not an adaptation: it is set 34 years after Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons’ 1986 graphic novel and assumes you know how that story ended. Newcomers can follow the plot; readers will catch far more.
Is this connected to the 2009 Watchmen movie?
Not meaningfully. Zack Snyder’s film is a direct adaptation of the comic; this HBO series is an original continuation with new characters and barely overlapping cast. Neither is required to watch the other.
How many episodes of Watchmen are there?
Nine. HBO has called it a one-season story with no plans for a second.
When did Watchmen premiere?
October 20, 2019, and it ran weekly through December 15, 2019.
